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Global Status of Agroecology
Over the last decade, agroecology has rapidly moved from the margins and taken centre stage in global discussions on environment and development. Institutions like the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization increasingly argue that agroecology can significantly help alleviate hunger and poverty as well as contribute to meeting other sustainable development goals. In this context, the history and practices of agroecology are outlined, and some of the ecological, social, economic, and political challenges for transformation to agroecology and food sovereignty have been identified.
At the global level, “agroecology” was barely recognised within official circles only a decade ago. But, today, agroecology has taken centre stage in policy discourses on food and farming thanks to a number of influential international processes. For example, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) hosted a major international symposium on agroecology in April 2018, which affirmed that agroecology is key to transforming food and agricultural systems and achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) (FAO 2018).
This growing international recognition is good news for farmers1 and social movements which argue for agroecological approaches to food, farming, and land use. However, the meanings of agroecology are now increasingly interpreted in different ways by different people and interest groups.
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